Bob Koca - USA
Backgammon giant and math professor of Baltimore, Maryland Robert (Bob) Koca rise to fame began at the 2008 World Series of Backgammon tour, when he outplayed backgammon and poker master Gus Hansen at the Riviera Cup. This win guaranteed him a seat at the 16-players WSOB shootout, where he finished second, losing to a French fashion photographer named Frédéric Andrieu and earning €60,000 in cash.
2008 also saw Koca winning several ABT events including the Colorado States Backgammon Championships doubles event (together with backgammon giant #16 and ABT player of the year Ray Fogerlund), the satellite doubles at the Michigan Summer Championships (with Stick Rice), the 8th Carolina Invitational, and the second place at the California State Championships and the last chance of the Midwest Backgammon Championships. Koca continued to grab victories in 2009, when he won both the Memorial Day Masters and the Perry Gartner's Quiz at the ABT Chicago Open. He also joined forces with the same Perry Gartner (#46 at the 2009 Giants of Backgammon list) to win the Doubles events.
